Got A Flat? How To Change A Tire In 5 Easy Steps

About 60% of Americans are completely confident in changing a tire. Are you one of them? If you are not so confident in changing a tire, then not to worry! We’ve made it easy to learn in 5 easy steps.

Read further to see how to change a tire in five simple and easy steps!

1. Stay Safe While Changing Your Tire

Getting a flat tire can happen at any time. You may have a safe car model, but even so, flat tires can happen at any time.

It may happen on a busy highway or down a residential street. While the latter might be easier, it is always good to know what to do when you get a flat tire on any sort of road.

While there are different situations for getting a flat tire, it is always important to be safe in any situation. Make sure you pull over to the side of the road, away from other cars. Put your car in park, or gear (if it is a manual) and turn off the engine.

Make sure the emergency brake is set. Lastly, wedge a brick or wheel wedges against the tires so that it won’t roll away.

2. Collect Tools

There are three basic tools that you will want to have to change your tire.

A lug wrench is a special type of wrench to take the bolts off of your tires. Most cars already come with one, but it is important to see if the wrench actually fits the bolts on the tires.

2. Car Jack

A car jack is used to lift up the car so that you can safely take off your tire. There are many different types of jacks so it can be slightly confusing as to which one to get. Here is a list of the best jack stands to buy for your car.

3. Spare Tire

As a tip, make sure to always check the air pressure on your spare tire when you check your tires. In situations where you need a spare, it’s always good to know that your tire is good and ready to go!

3. Loosen the Lugs

Now, to get started. The lugs (bolts) on your wheel can be very tight. Before you jack up the car, you’ll want to loosen the lugs with the wrench. Since the car is not jacked yet, the weight of the car will help with loosening the bolts.

4. Remove the Flat Tire

Once you loosen the bolts, now it is time to use the jack to lift up the car. When using the jack, lift up the car about six inches or until you see a bit of sunlight coming from underneath.

You don’t want to lift the car too high since cars cannot balance very well on three wheels. Also, you do not want to go underneath the car as well. If the jack doesn’t work, you don’t want your body underneath a falling car.

After this, remove the loosened bolts. Take off the flat tire with both hands. Then, take the spare tire and put the lugs through the tire until they are showing through the rim.

Lastly, tighten all of the bolts by hand.

5. Back on the Road With a Spare

After the spare is on, lower the car with the jack stand. Once the car is back on the ground, use the lug wrench to securely tighten the bolts.

After that, you are ready to head back on the road!

Change a Tire in a Breeze

As you can see, changing a tire can be super easy! While it may seem daunting at first, with some practice, you can change a tire in a breeze!

Need more help in figuring out what is wrong with your car? Read our article on how to begin to diagnose your car.